


Visions of Arda: Tolkien Fanart Vol. III

by Alystraea



Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Aman (Tolkien), Fall of Gondolin, Gen, Hunters & Hunting, Laurelin, Portraits, Telperion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2019-10-16 15:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17552633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alystraea/pseuds/Alystraea
Summary: Another scrapbook of my Tolkien fan art. So far: mostly House of Finwë, some Ainur, and a wee bit of Gondolin.





	1. Finarfin, King of the Noldor

I've no time to work on any new art, so this an overhaul of an earlier portrait of Finarfin I never completed. 


	2. Galadriel

Touched up an old piece.


	3. Elven Hunters of Beleriand

What finally motivated me (after more than half a year) to finish off the details and background of this piece was a sudden hankering for a new desktop wallpaper. But I'm not going to colour it for a very silly reason, which shows what a digital art moron I am. I had to export the file a few times from MyPaint 1.0 to Clip Studio Paint, and that flattened the layers... which means that the picture has no transparency and I have no idea how to colour it now. So I'm stuck with it in black & white... but it doesn't look too bad. I hope. 

Anyways, clockwise from the top left corner we have: Oromë (and a little shadowy silhouette of him riding Nahar and blowing the Valaróma as he hunts evil monsters in Ennor), Celegorm & Huan, Curufin, the Ambarussa (let's go with the version where no one gets burned at Losgar), Beleg, Aredhel, Finrod, Maglor and Maedhros. 

The riders at the bottom capture that moment when Finrod "wearied of the hunt" and decides to go off wandering and encounters the edain...

And in the cropped portions below, I left Aredhel and Beleg together, and it occurred to me that it is just possible they could have met sometime during her years in Nan Elmoth. 


	4. Elrond

 

After painting Galadriel with Nenya, I decided to do the other two bearers of the elven rings. So here is Elrond :)


	5. Cirdan

Círdan giving Narya to Gandalf.


	6. Finwe and Miriel

Hi all, finally making some time to paint after an incredibly stressful semester. "The love of Finwe and Miriel was great and glad, for it began in the Blessed Realm in the days of bliss." So here are Finwe and Miriel by the light of Telperion. Next up will be Finwe and Indis.

As you can tell, I'm so tired I'm not even going to bother with diacritics

(Previous "love by treelight" paintings are in Vol.2 - Finrod and Amarie, and Finarfin and Earwen.)


	7. Finwe and Indis

Finwe and Indis by the light of Laurelin (poor Laurelin is tucked away near the bottom, and I had to remove some grass-flowers that originally hid it.)

So what do we know about Indis? She was "in all ways unlike Miriel". Miriel's hair was silver; Indis' was golden. Miriel was slender; Indis was tall and swift. Miriel was skilled of hand; Indis was skilled in song. Miriel was proud and stubborn; Indis appears to have been far more easy-going as she brought laughter wherever she went.  

 "There was a fair lady of the Vanyar, Indis of the House of Ingwë. She had loved Finwë in her heart, ever since the days when the Vanyar and the Noldor lived close together. In one of his wanderings, Finwë met her again upon the inner slopes of Oiolossë, the mountain of Manwë and Varda; and her face was lit by the golden light of Laurelin that was shining in the plain of Ezellohar below. In that hour, Finwë perceived in her eyes the love that had been hidden from him." ("The Shibboleth of Fëanor",  _HoME_  vol. XII)

"...when Indis saw Finwë climbing the paths of the Mountain, and the light of Laurelin was behind him as a glory, without forethought she sang suddenly in great joy, and her song went up as a song of the  _lirulin_ in the sky." ( _Morgoth's Ring_ )

"Now it came to pass that Finwë took as his second wife Indis the Fair. She was a Vanya, close kin of Ingwë the High King, golden-haired and tall, and in all ways unlike Míriel. Finwë loved her greatly, and was glad again. But the shadow of Míriel did not depart from the House of Finwë, nor from his heart..." ("Of Fëanor",  _The Silmarillion_ ) 


	8. Glorfindel of the Golden Flower

Hi all, I was in two minds earlier whether to upload this teeny painting of Glorfindel (I did it just as a warm-up before tackling Finwë and his two wives) because it was so small and hurried. Those of you who are on deviantart and tumblr will already have seen it. I decided to post it because I had really hoped to add more Gondolin and Glorfindel art here this summer, but I'm running out of time and there's no way a bigger and better piece can happen by Tarnin Austa this year. 

I know it's early yet, but I wish all of you a joyous Gates of Summer.

 


	9. Beneath the Trees

"But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar." ("Of Beren and Luthien",  _The Silmarillion_ )

Another tiny sketch... I was just playing with some of the brushes I never use that come bundled with my freeware, and this happened.

And now, farewell to art and back to work. (Weeps.)

 


	10. Ainulindale

 

" _Then the voices of the Ainur, like unto harps and lutes, and pipes and trumpets, and viols and organs, and like unto countless choirs singing with words, began to fashion the theme of Ilúvatar to a great music; and a sound arose of endless interchanging melodies woven in harmony that passed beyond hearing into the depths and into the heights, and the places of the dwelling of Ilúvatar were filled to overflowing.... But as the theme progressed, it came into the heart of Melkor to interweave matters of his own imagining that were not in accord with the theme of Ilúvatar, for he sought therein to increase the power and glory of the part assigned to himself_." (Ainulindalë)  
  
This began as concept art for musician [Turelinda](https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://turelinda.bandcamp.com/releases), who is working on a new Silmarillion-themed album tentatively titled  _World of Resonance._ But as the drawing progressed, I moved further and further away from my initial vision of the Ainur looking like cosmic cloud-like nebulae, and began giving them human forms. (I have very little time to draw or paint, and when I do, I gravitate towards an area I still find very tough - anatomy.)   
  
Nor did I intend to differentiate any of the Valar in this piece when I started. What is important is their unity of voice and purpose, and they are collectively illuminated with the light of the Flame Imperishable. The only one who really was meant to stand out as a rebel is Melkor. In the end, however, I added a few little distinguishing characteristics to some of them. Manwë is the one soaring upwards, closest to the light. Varda is the brightest. Nienna has tears on her cheek. Aulë of course has a beard. Irmo looks as though he is dreaming. For the rest, it's up to you who you think is who... honestly, it doesn't matter.   
  
I enjoyed doing this piece, and completed it a week ago. But I knew it wasn't suitable. Thus I've discarded this concept, have had a very fruitful email discussion with Turelinda where the original vision was clarified and developed further, and I'm now returning to work on the album cover almost from scratch. Turelinda has been amazing to work with - as we discuss, we so often think along the same lines and have the same ideas! I love the new concept. I just hope I'll be able to make it a reality. From now on, I will only have time to work on it intermittently, so it'll be months before it really takes shape. 


	11. Ainulindale (details)

 


	12. Maeglin

My only contribution to Nolofinwean Week 2019. Work has been pretty relentless, but I've decided I deserve a break over the long weekend!


	13. Mairon the Admirable

A birthday present for cinemairon on tumblr (because she's such a sweetheart she draws something for me every year on my birthday).


End file.
